VIRTUAL REALITY LEAPS TO ACTION
GRANTS FUND HANDS-ON TRAINING WITH AN
INNOVATIVE VIRTUAL REALITY TWIST
Technology designed with real people in mind changes lives. Virtual Reality Embedded Naloxone Training aims to save lives.
Stopping an overdose using naloxone requires quick action in tough situations. First responders use it as the opioid epidemic claims more than 200 lives in Illinois per month. Naloxone also helps those close to opioid users stand ready.
“We’re creating training that mimics hectic moments so people can feel prepared,” said Scott Barrows, director of OSF Innovation Design Lab at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center and University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria clinical associate. “VENT pairs augmented and virtual reality with hands-on practice for administering naloxone.”
VENT received Illinois Innovation Network seed grant funding to develop and test the layperson-focused training.
IIN drives inclusive and integrated innovation, research, and economic development across Illinois. Led by the University of Illinois System, IIN issues grants that boost collaboration among regional partners and the state’s 12 public universities.
TEAM IN ACTION
Along with Barrows, VENT collaborators include:
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale assistant professor of public health Wasantha Jayawardene
- Illinois State University Nursing Simulation Lab director Joanna Willett
- ISU associate professor of creative technologies Roy Magnuson
ISU graduate student Matt Kase’s programming skills bring VENT to life. Magnuson involved Kase because of his tech abilities and addiction biology background. The VENT interface uses the new Apple Vision Pro. Kase turns to Magnuson when he gets stuck. That’s just one way the partnership works.
“We’re using everyone’s experience. We have a really good mix of backgrounds,” Kase said.
USING VENT TECHNOLOGY
First, VENT educates users about the dangers of opioids—including uber-potent Fentanyl. Then things get hands-on. Holding a Narcan dispenser. Giving the drug through a mannequin’s nostrils.
Then things get real.
“VENT takes people, for example, into a dance club with dim lighting, loud music,” Kase said. “They’ll see someone on the floor who needs help, someone who has OD’d. We believe learning amid distractions will stick more in people’s minds so they can draw on the skills if they need to.”
In and around Peoria, Barrows incorporates industry and community organizations into the VENT endeavor, including IIN’s Distillery Labs.
“Taking VENT on the road means critical education for schools, communities, and more. Because of IIN we’re able to focus on vulnerable rural and urban communities to ensure our training makes the most impact possible,” said Barrows, an alum of all three U of I System universities.
“We believe learning amid distractions will stick more in people’s minds so they can draw on the skills if they need to.”
Wasantha Jayawardene
Joanna Willett
Roy Magnuson
Matt Kase
Scott Barrows
Technology designed with real people in mind changes lives. Virtual Reality Embedded Naloxone Training aims to save lives.
Stopping an overdose using naloxone requires quick action in tough situations. First responders use it as the opioid epidemic claims more than 200 lives in Illinois per month. Naloxone also helps those close to opioid users stand ready.
“We’re creating training that mimics hectic moments so people can feel prepared,” said Scott Barrows, director of OSF Innovation Design Lab at Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center and University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria clinical associate. “VENT pairs augmented and virtual reality with hands-on practice for administering naloxone.”
VENT received Illinois Innovation Network seed grant funding to develop and test the layperson-focused training.
IIN drives inclusive and integrated innovation, research, and economic development across Illinois. Led by the University of Illinois System, IIN issues grants that boost collaboration among regional partners and the state’s 12 public universities.
TEAM IN ACTION
Along with Barrows, VENT collaborators include:
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale assistant professor of public health Wasantha Jayawardene
- Illinois State University Nursing Simulation Lab director Joanna Willett
- ISU associate professor of creative technologies Roy Magnuson
ISU graduate student Matt Kase’s programming skills bring VENT to life. Magnuson involved Kase because of his tech abilities and addiction biology background. The VENT interface uses the new Apple Vision Pro. Kase turns to Magnuson when he gets stuck. That’s just one way the partnership works.
“We’re using everyone’s experience. We have a really good mix of backgrounds,” Kase said.
USING VENT TECHNOLOGY
First, VENT educates users about the dangers of opioids—including uber-potent Fentanyl. Then things get hands-on. Holding a Narcan dispenser. Giving the drug through a mannequin’s nostrils.
Then things get real.
“VENT takes people, for example, into a dance club with dim lighting, loud music,” Kase said. “They’ll see someone on the floor who needs help, someone who has OD’d. We believe learning amid distractions will stick more in people’s minds so they can draw on the skills if they need to.”
In and around Peoria, Barrows incorporates industry and community organizations into the VENT endeavor, including IIN’s Distillery Labs.
“Taking VENT on the road means critical education for schools, communities, and more. Because of IIN we’re able to focus on vulnerable rural and urban communities to ensure our training makes the most impact possible,” said Barrows, an alum of all three U of I System universities.
“We believe learning amid distractions will stick more in people’s minds so they can draw on the skills if they need to.”
Wasantha Jayawardene
Joanna Willett
Roy Magnuson
Matt Kase
Scott Barrows
BY THE NUMBERS
BY THE NUMBERS
ANOTHER STATEWIDE ILLINOIS INNOVATION NETWORK INITIATIVE
The statewide Manufacturing Matters campaign aims to boost enrollment in community college training programs by 5% to 10% in 2024. Through a strategic marketing campaign, the IIN-community college partnership aims to show how critical today's manufacturing work is to our ever-changing environment and climate.
ANOTHER STATEWIDE ILLINOIS INNOVATION NETWORK INITIATIVE
The statewide Manufacturing Matters campaign aims to boost enrollment in community college training programs by 5% to 10% in 2024. Through a strategic marketing campaign, the IIN-community college partnership aims to show how critical today's manufacturing work is to our ever-changing environment and climate.